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Harvey Birdman

Harvey Birdman

Real Name
Harvey Birdman
First Appearance
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, "Bannon Custody Battle" (September 2, 2001)
Creators
Michael Ouweleen, Erik Richter
Team Affliation
Sebben and Sebben (law firm)
Aliases
Birdman
Base of Operations
Unknown (an unnamed metropolis)
Powers
Flight
Skills and Abilities
Licensed Attorney
Tools and Weapons
The Bird Crest, Light Shield, Wings

Harvey Birdman is a superhero reimagined from the character Birdman from the Hanna-Barbera show Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, and the star of the animated TV series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.

He is voiced by Gary Cole.

Origin[]

A former cartoon superhero, Harvey Birdman gave up a life of fighting monsters and villains and dedicated himself to law, becoming a lawyer in the firm Sebben & Sebben.

History[]

It is shown that the life of Harvey Birdman began very similarly to his name sake as the superhero simply named Birdman. It can be inferred that their lives were identical in many events of their lives save that some events not seen in the original Birdman cartoon also occurred in his life. Only one episode, a prequel episode "Turner Classic Birdman" (AKA "A Busy Day for Birdman") in which Birdman has a particularly tiring action packed day and decides to change careers.

As a lawyer, he joined the firm Sebben & Sebben, run by the eccentric Phil Ken Sebben, who was once his boss Falcon Seven. He chooses to represent other Hanna Barbara characters to the best of his ability with the assistance of his loyal bird Avenger. Eventually Harvey gained a man named Peanut as his legal clerk, who is dressed similarly to Birdman (and is based on previous sidekick Birdlad) but it is never quite explained why they look similar.

After several successful cases, Birdman encountered a new potential rival in the new suave lawyer Blue Falcon and his dog Dynomutt. After Birdman has shown his jealousy of Falcone, he was later found with the body of Dynomutt and is immediately accused of murder. Following a trial, Birdman is found guilty and spends a lengthy sentence in jail. Once released, Harvey discovers the murder was all part of a prank for his surprise party.

Later, Harvey began a new relationship with a girl named Gigi, despite the fact that she seemed interested in making out with every guy who wasn't him (a fact that is lost on Harvey). Gigi and Harvey are eventually married... in a mass marriage where they are in a polygamous relationship with Phil Ken Sebben, Vapour Man (as Vince), Meteor Man (as Terry), Peanut and the Bear (a nameless bear who often appears around the offices of Sebben & Sebben), though none of the characters speak of it afterwards. One day, Gigi announced she was pregnant with Harvey's baby, despite the fact that the two never had sexual relations. However, after 9 months of Gigi leeching off of Birdman financially, it is revealed that the child is actually Grape Ape's, a client of Harvey's.

After a lot of cases (including both wins and losses), Harvey later met Phil Ken Sebben's daughter Judy, who decided to help Harvey Birdman as an assistant named Birdgirl. After Phil Ken Sebben disappears, fellow employee Peter Potamus takes over for him but is soon replaced by Birdman once it is discovered that Phil Ken Sebben is dead. Later, Harvey is called for jury duty for the very case he is working on and to solve the dilemma, Harvey is duplicated by the villain/lawyer the Deadly Duplicator so that both Harvey's can perform their duties. Harvey wins the case, only to discover every juror save for Harvey has been in every previous case, meaning that all of Harvey's cases must be retried. Within an arbitrary time limit set by Judge Mentor the Mindtaker (an ex-supervillain turned judge), Birdman settled all of his previous cases save for one: his very first case where he prosecuted a villain named Nitron.

Nitron, now free, began attacking the city with his giant robot DefCon-12, forcing Birdman, Peanut, Birdgirl, and Avenger into action.  The team, with the help of Peter Potamus, defeat Defcon-12 and take down Nitron.  However, shortly after, Birdman dies from being hit by Phil Ken Sebben's car.

Personality[]

Harvey Birdman is earnest in his desire to help the innocent, but is often incompetent and oblivious to major aspects of the case.

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